1972 Gitane Gran Sport de Luxe
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1972 Gitane Gran Sport de Luxe
Just a lowly Gran Sport, but I thought it turned out sorta good-looking for $40 and a set of fenders.
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My first 10-speed circa 1970. Started my lifelong hatred of French bikes.
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Are those whitewalls? Where did you get them? Also is that the standard Simplex Prestige, or some other model?
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I love Gitanes! Very nice!!
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1971 Paramount P-13 Chrome
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1974 Raleigh Professional Blue Mink
1991 Waterford Paramount
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1971 Paramount P-13 Chrome
1973 Paramount P-15 Opaque Blue
1974 Raleigh Professional Blue Mink
1991 Waterford Paramount
Holland Titanium Dura Ace Group
Holland Titanium Ultegra Triple Group
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Originally Posted by Mos6502
Are those whitewalls? Where did you get them? Also is that the standard Simplex Prestige, or some other model?
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I've got 2 Gran Sport de Luxe mixtes right now. One is your turquoise color(maybe a little greener), and the other is baby blue. I love the blue one, but for some reason I dislike the turquoise one. It's on permaloan to my roommate, though, and she enjoys it. The blue one is our guest bicycle (it's got a 53cm seat tube, so it can accomodate a decent height range).
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Originally Posted by vpiuva
WTF???
OK. Heavy frame, uncomfortable plastic seat, out of true steel cranks, clunky, crashing Huret deraillers, steel bars, steel rims, steel seatpost, worthless brakes, marginal hubs, crappy headset. Should I go on? Its only attribute was its cheapness (98 dollars out the door!)
Sorry, after less than a year on that hunk-o-junk I moved on to 531, Campagnolo, alloy, Brooks and sewups and never looked back.
Its a bike, but nothing to aspire to.
Actually, I've had a number of French bikes but usually I move them out of my life as soon as I can, though I have a couple I'm keeping (a Campagnolo Stella and a sweet 60s Raphael Gemniani). Mostly I hate the French components, fragile and it seems you adjust and adjust, and still they never work that well. Honestly, my preference is for English bikes, I like 531 and their geometries.
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Mostly I hate the French components, fragile and it seems you adjust and adjust, and still they never work that well.
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1971 Paramount P-13 Chrome
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1974 Raleigh Professional Blue Mink
1991 Waterford Paramount
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1971 Paramount P-13 Chrome
1973 Paramount P-15 Opaque Blue
1974 Raleigh Professional Blue Mink
1991 Waterford Paramount
Holland Titanium Dura Ace Group
Holland Titanium Ultegra Triple Group
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Originally Posted by Rabid Koala
To each his or her own, I suppose, but I have a Gitane Tour de France with Simplex and it shifts flawlessly. I also had a Gitane Gran Sport de luxe that was equipped with SunTour, maybe if it had Huret or Simplex Prestige I would feel the same way you do. It did have an odd feel to the crank set, though.
I had a Gitane Tour De France with Campagnolo. Only complaint was the Maystop brakes.
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[QUOTE=mswantak]Just a lowly Gran Sport, but I thought it turned out sorta good-looking for $40 and a set of fenders.
Well, there's nothing lowly about it i.m.h.o., that's a lovely Gitane!
Well, there's nothing lowly about it i.m.h.o., that's a lovely Gitane!
#14
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Very nice Mike.
I've got a similar '71 in white that needs a redo and I hope it looks like that when it's done. Also an early 70's TdF in same turquiose but a good amount of fading on the top tube. That color ranks up there as one of my favorites for vintage bikes.
Reasonably priced on CL, IMHO. Even if you did slip in some Nitto's.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/292040542.html
I've got a similar '71 in white that needs a redo and I hope it looks like that when it's done. Also an early 70's TdF in same turquiose but a good amount of fading on the top tube. That color ranks up there as one of my favorites for vintage bikes.
Reasonably priced on CL, IMHO. Even if you did slip in some Nitto's.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/292040542.html
Last edited by raverson; 03-13-07 at 10:22 AM.
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Not whitewalls, just older Specialized touring skinwalls. The RD is a white-label Prestige I had aound. The FD and shifters are original. What I found unusual is the Weinmann brakes and levers rather than Mafacs, and the diamond-pleat saddle instead of the usual hard plastic anvil.
I also found a '71 GSdL 60cm, Mafacs and Huret mechs. Bronze-green paint in better shape than the '72, but chrome a little worse. Dunno if I want to pay $50, though.
Got a few bites from the CL ad so far, but it's still here. Man, the volume of bikes on the Bay Area CL is just unbelievable this week; pretty high asking prices too. Spring must be in the air.
I also found a '71 GSdL 60cm, Mafacs and Huret mechs. Bronze-green paint in better shape than the '72, but chrome a little worse. Dunno if I want to pay $50, though.
Got a few bites from the CL ad so far, but it's still here. Man, the volume of bikes on the Bay Area CL is just unbelievable this week; pretty high asking prices too. Spring must be in the air.
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Originally Posted by mswantak
The RD is a white-label Prestige I had aound.
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It's got a white label like the Criterium, but otherwise it's identical to the red-labeled Prestige. As long as the idler wheels have teeth on them, they shift as well as any contemprary low-end derailleur.